Importing a log file - problems and confusion - please help!

[iboy]

Importing a log file - problems and confusion !!

I am looking to import a large log file into Access so that I can manipulate the data and produce useful queries and reports. The log file will come in as one large file containing printing details (users, printers, pages printed). I would then like to hand-create a number of tables (User, Printer etc.) and link everything together, but how do I link everything to this large log file? The tables I create will need to link to lots of different attributes in this log file, and I dont know what keys to set or how I can do this in an efficient manner. Do I need to split the log file?

I apologise as I'm quite inexperienced in Access so maybe I'm doing something wrong, or maybe Access cannot do what I need of it?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

iboy

 

[Crilen007]

You don't link to a text file.

 

[Crilen007]

More elaborate - >


You would have to import the file into tables.

But the table would have to be in a format that is importable.

Perhaps you could post some sample entires from the table so we can explain how you would go about the process.

 

[RV]

Do I need to split the log file?

In a way, yes.
You don't necessarily need to split is beforehand.

What you could do is import your logfile in one table first.
Next, use queries to transfer the table data to the tables you intend to use in Access.
After you've inserted the data in your tables, clean your main table so it re-usable for the next import of your logfile.

RV

 

[iboy]

Wow - thanks for the fast response guys!

Firstly I have just manually altered the log file to a .txt format. The log file is thousands of lines long and is made up of the following attributes:

UserID,Document,Printer,Date,Time,PCId,Blank1,Blank2,Paper,PrintCountCode,Code,Pages,Cost,Balance

What's the best approach to take to successfully manipulate this data with other tables (such as user, department, printer etc.)? Im confused about how the relationships will work because there are duplicates in the log file.

Really I just want to be able to efficiently query the log file in conjunction with some other data to be able to produce averages and summaries of the data. That is my aim.

Continued help would be appreciated. Thanks


Oh, and also, I'm not sure if this is a bit optimistic considering I dont even know how to do the basics, but I'd like to be able to import new versions of the log file (which is constantly updated) on a monthly basis, for example, although I realise that this could get messy and may require some complicated programming to achieve

 

[iboy]

Does anyone have anything to add to the splitting table suggestion??